Iran-Israel Conflict: European Nations Lead De-Escalation Push As Trump Sets 2-Week Deadline For US Strikes

Several European countries are leading the push for a de-escalation between Israel and Iran as the conflict entered its eighth day.

According to a Bloomberg report, top diplomats from the U.K., France, and Germany are meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva.

The discussions would center on“nuclear and regional issues” related to the Israel-Iran conflict.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices edged lower amid signs that Iran is willing to talk. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures traded 0.2% lower at $73.35 per barrel.

The United States Oil Fund LP (USO) rose 0.36%, while the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO) surged 0.87% at the time of writing, paring most of the gains made earlier during the day. Stocktwits data shows sentiment around both ETFs was in the 'extremely bullish' territory over the past two weeks.

U.K. Foreign Minister David Lammy sounded optimistic about the possibility of coming to an understanding with Iran on the nuclear question.

“The situation in the Middle East remains perilous. A window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution,” he said.

While Lammy met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani held calls with Rubio and Araghchi.

Earlier, a Reuters report stated that while Iran is open to discussing limitations on uranium enrichment, it won't do so while it's under fire from Israel. The report also said Iran would reject proposals for zero enrichment of uranium.

The European push for a de-escalation between Israel and Iran comes after President Donald Trump announced that he will decide on possible strikes on Iran by the United States, including a possible military entry into the country.

“Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” Trump said, according to a statement read out by White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump maintained a vague stance on possible action against Iran, saying,“Nobody knows what I'm going to do.”

Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets ticked lower as investors weighed the impact of a potential strike on Iran and the Fed's rate policy going forward after Governor Christopher Waller said a cut is possible in July.

At the time of writing, the SPDR S & P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S & P 500 index, was down 0.04%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 0.4%.

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